Publications

Living conditions of people living in urban informal settlements are characterized by inhumane conditions, underpinned by lack of essential services like water and sanitation services including toilets and waste disposal dumps, housing and health services. The current state of service provision in Freetown’s informal settlements is in part a product of growing informality, in response to gaps in the provision of public services, notably in sanitation and health care. This policy brief provides an insight into the current state of living conditions in informal settlements of Freetown and how these link to health.

Unequal access to healthcare exacerbates poor health due to their living conditions of those living in informal settlements across Freetown, Sierra Leone. This issue brief provides an insight into the current state of healthcare provision in Freetown’s informal settlements.

Waste management has been a challenge in the Freetown municipality of Sierra Leone for a long time, underpinned by the limited capacity of institutions responsible for waste collection and depositing. These challenges come with a huge cost to human health. The situation is even worse for people living in informal settlements within and on the fringes on the city. The lack of a well-planned and regulated waste management system in the informal settlements is a key driver of indiscriminate waste dumping. Waste dumping by communities, mostly in waterways, drainages and under footbridges, are invariably linked to health challenges for informal communities and built-up settlements located alongside those communities. This issue brief therefore provides an insight into the current state of waste management challenges in informal settlements.

Access to water is one of the major challenges faced by residents of Freetown, Sierra Leone, and informal settlements are no exception to this problem. Communities’ sources and access to water vary by location. The rapid urbanisation and over population is part of the reasons for the water crisis in the city as the estimated beneficiaries far outweigh the capacity of the national Guma valley water company that is responsible for water supply in the city. The topography of the lands occupied by informal settlements makes their situations even worse to get access to safe drinking water. This issue brief provides an insight into the current state of water and sanitation challenges in informal settlements.